Once we get the box open and check out the goods, we see that we have just what is needed without a lot of fluff. A quick glance is all it takes to realize this is not a modular power supply, but all cabling is wrapped with a mesh material so cable management shouldn't be too much an issue.

The power supply itself is rated at a constant draw of 700 watts with a maximum load of 840 watts being listed on the manufacturer's website. While this will not put it in the realm of the "high-end" component, it does fall into the upper area of the mid-range category of similar products.

The UCP-700 has four 12v rails, each of which is rated at 19A. The 5v rail is rated at 22A as is the 3.3v rail. While we have seen beefier power supplies, this will generally handle the load of a vast majority of systems, to include enthusiast level machines.

As far as estimated reliability, Cooler Master rates the MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure) at 100,000 hours, which equates to roughly 11.4 years of 24/7 usage. This coupled with the 5-year warranty ought to make for a promising life span of your investment.

The exterior face is similar to what we are coming to expect nowadays; a sparse layout with plenty of ventilation. The only things you'll find here are the main power coupler, a toggle switch to power down the PSU and a small LED light that lets you know when the device is getting power from the outlet.

To make use of all that ventilation on the back panel, the UCP-700 makes use of a quiet 120mm fan that automatically adjusts the speed depending on how hot the unit gets. While testing out this product, I was never able to hear the fan over the system, so quiet shouldn't bee too much of a problem.

From this angle you can also get a little closer look at the finish of the power supply. It is a coating that reminds me of my youth and camping trips. Those who have gone on this type of activity will remember the porcelain coated plates and cups that have that spotty appearance. This PSU has a very similar look, which also has a flat finish so fingerprints will be greatly minimized if not eliminated altogether.

As noted previously, this is not a modular power supply. The mesh covering for the cabling harnesses, however, extends into the housing so everything should stay neat and clean. Looking closely at the exit point for the harness shows that there is no plastic grommet to protect the wiring, but there is a zip-tie that holds the cabling in place and the coating used for the exterior of the housing goes into the hole as well so there are no sharp edges. Together, this should ensure you have no problems with the housing wearing through the mesh and plastic of the wires.

Speaking of the cabling, the UCP-700 includes plenty for most users with cable lengths that had no problems reaching in a full tower enclosure. You get a 24-pin primary coupler, a 4+4 pin supplemental coupler, and connectors for 4 PCI-E, 2 PCI-E8, 4 SATA, 5 Molex and 1 FDD. While there are plenty of possibilities with the connectors included, take note that the primary power block is not the older 20+4 design. This will not have an effect on most of us, but some of those who still use a 20-pin mainboard will want to make sure they have a reducer handy before building their system.

Also, since this particular power supply comes with plenty of connectivity for PCI-E devices, we are going to thrash it in testing. It is understood that the power level really isn't designed to handle a high-end Crossfire-X configuration, but we'll give it a go since the cabling is already in place. After all, why not see just how much punishment this thing can take?

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